Kansas man accused in failed Army base bomb plot sentenced

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to one
year and four months in prison for helping a would-be jihadist's
unsuccessful plan to plant what they thought was a bomb at Fort
Riley Army base.

Alexander Blair, 29, also was sentenced to two years of
supervised probation. He was accused of loaning $100 to
21-year-old John T. Booker Jr. to store what they thought was an
explosive device. The device was a fake bomb built by FBI
informants. Prosecutors allege Booker intended to plant it
outside the northeast Kansas base in support of the Islamic State
group.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree handed down the sentence.
Blair's attorney sought a sentence of five years' probation,
arguing it was easy for Booker to manipulate Blair because Blair
has an unusual genetic personality condition. Prosecutors pushed
for the maximum five-year prison term.

Blair pleaded guilty in May to a conspiracy charge for loaning
the money to Booker, who also is from Topeka.

Booker pleaded guilty in February to two felonies under an
agreement calling for him to serve 30 years in prison, but he
hasn't been sentenced. He was arrested in April 2015 outside Fort
Riley, about 60 miles west of Topeka, as he was trying to arm
what he thought was a 1,000-pound explosive device.

Blair met Booker in January 2015, at the Islamic Center mosque in
Topeka. In a court filing, Blair's attorney said Blair was
interested in Islam because he did not feel like he was "fully
part" of the Christian congregations he had previously joined.

Blair has been diagnosed with Williams syndrome, a genetic
disorder marked by developmental delays and a compulsion to
connect with others while being unable to process social cues.
Blair's attorney said in a court filing last month that Blair's
social maturity is "similar to an 11- or 12-year-old." A forensic
psychiatrist reported in April that Blair did not believe Booker
would attempt to bomb Fort Riley.

Blair's attorney has argued that Blair would be vulnerable to
physical and sexual exploitation in prison and might become
violent to survive.

In a letter to the judge in August, Blair wrote that he "never
wanted any harm or damage done to my country."

"I keep trying to understand why I did it and I can't think of
any answer," Blair wrote.

But federal prosecutors argued that neither Blair's disorder nor
his limited role in Booker's plot negate statements Blair made to
FBI agents about knowing the specifics of Booker's plan in
loaning Booker the money.

Booker plotted the bombing with two confidential FBI sources.
During a court hearing in February, Booker's attorney said Booker
had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was taking
medication.

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Kansas man accused in failed Army base bomb plot sentenced

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to one year and four months in prison for helping a would-be jihadist's unsuccessful plan to plant what they thought was a bomb at Fort Riley Army base.